February 2009 Newsletter
Back to Main Newsletters Page"The pro-life movement that began in the twentieth century laid the foundation for the pro-life movement of the twenty-first century. We have been at this a long time, and we are just getting started."
- Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, 1936 - 2009. Requiescat in pace
Last month as I turned the calendar to 2009, it occured to me that I'm setting out on my 17th year working as a pro-life educator.
These years have been packed full of challenges and blessings. There have been victories and defeats, advances and setbacks, consolations and desolations. But through it all, I have always considered it a great privilege and blessing to play even a small role in what is certainly the most important human rights cause in history.
Occasionally, one of our supporters will ask me: "What keeps you going? Do you ever get discouraged? How do you avoid burnout?"
There are several ways to answer that. First, I am certainly not immune to becoming tired or fatigued or even dejected on occasion. But these are mere emotions. I don't fear them. They have only such power over us as we choose to allow.
Second, I maintain a constant awareness that we in the pro-life movement follow in the footsteps of great social reformers, such as William Wilberforce, who, over many centuries, made the world a better place through their perseverance. Every day of our lives we reap the benefits of their tenacity.
Speaking of great reformers, in January we lost an elequent pro-life voice with the passing of Fr. Richard John Neuhaus. Last year Fr. Neuhaus spoke to the annual National Right to Life convention. He recalled the time in the 1960s when he felt compelled to become involved in the pro-life movement, stating: "To be recruited to the cause of the culture of life is to be recruited for the duration; and there is no end in sight, except to the eyes of faith."
My faith, as it did for Fr. Neuhaus, calls me to work "for the duration," and I suspect it is the same for you.
However, there is another reason on the practical level that causes me to be greatly encouraged about the future of the pro-life cause. I'm referring to the tremendous growth in young people who are dedicating their lives to building a culture of life.
My husband and I just returned from San Francisco where the "West Coast Walk for Life" was held on Jan. 24. The crowd numbered in the tens of thousands, and it was obviously dominated by young people!
It has become cliche to speak about "young people being the leaders of the future," yet this is obviously true for our pro-life cause. It explains why Healing the Culture has made development of a high school pro-life curriculum our top priority for 2009.
We see abundant evidence that young people are hungry to hear this message. Several weeks ago, I was invited to address the entire student body at Christendom College in Virginia for their 2008 Major Speakers Program. I talked for over an hour about the dire straits our culture is in, and the great need for educated pro-life men and women to take a stand and build a culture of life. (You can listen to my entire address by clicking here). These brilliant young students were ecstatic about the sophisticated approach Healing the Culture is taking in pro-life education.
This year, the first installment of our "REAL LIFE" high school curriculum will debut as part of the Legacy Institute's 10th grade curriculum. The Legacy Institute is a top-rated educational organization which teaches teens and their parents about sexual integrity. They chose our organization to write their piece on abortion because, in their own words, "Healing the Culture has the best pro-life education out there!"
The Legacy Institute will be using a scripted dialogue we wrote called "A Conversation with Robert and Emma," which was successfully tested last year. But this is only a first step. Schools and teachers are eagerly awaiting our complete program. We must finish the student textbook that accompanies the "Robert and Emma" script, and create teacher tools and media products by the end of this year.
Your financial support of Healing the Culture allowed us to produce this first component of our high school curriculum. With your continued support, we can finish the job. If you can offer any additional financial support to help us with this project, we will be very grateful.
Your contribution will help us transform the hearts and minds of young people - and help create a new generation of pro-life leaders who, like you and me, are in it "for the duration."
Camille Pauley
President
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